Shapeshifter are a band from New Zealand who have been playing live drum & bass / soul music together for 11 years. In that time they have released four studio albums and their latest, The System Is A Vampire, was released in 2009 by New Zealand label Truetone. Hospital Records recently signed Shapeshifter and will be releasing The System Is A Vampire globally in October. We spoke to the band to find out more...

How did you come to sign to Hospital?

We have been friends with Tony [London Elektricity] for quite a while and have always kept in touch with him in regards to what we have been doing in the studio. He fell in love with The Upbeats remix of Twin Galaxies off The System Is A Vampire and that started some discussions on the album.  

The album had just come out in NZ so we initially started talking about releasing a couple of the remixes that we already had on their Sick Music compilation. It really just all happened very naturally from there, we sent Hospital the whole album and waited to see if they wanted to release it. I think this is a real exciting direction for us as a band and Hospital as a label!

The album went platinum and scored you a number one in New Zealand, have your other albums been this well received at home?

Yeah, we thought it would go platinum as the previous two albums had and Soulstice went nearly double platinum, but we really didn't expect it to go number one. I mean there was Michael Jackson and Susan Boyle at the time, how was a drum & bass album going to contend with those? But it did and it stayed number one for two weeks.

Will there be any singles from the album on Hospital?

I'm not sure, but one thing we do know is there is going to be some great remixes out there. Logistics, Camo & Krooked, Netsky, State of Mind, The Upbeats, B-Complex, Truth and Pacific Heights have all done amazing cuts.

Is this just a one-off arrangement or do you think you'll continue working with Hospital?

We hope not! We want to be Hospital's live act.

You're famed for your live shows, tell us a bit about what people can expect if they come to see you live...

We have a lot of instruments on stage but one of the most important is our soundbwoy Tiki. Tiki is one of New Zealand's biggest songwriters with his own double platinum and number one album, so we are very lucky to still have him.  He has been doing our sound since the start, so it's got to the point now where he can't leave, we wouldn't let him, haha!.

Tiki is the sixth member of the band and adds so much to our show.  He actually gets the band to sound like what a drum & bass band needs to sound like.  Very heavy bottom end, and tight drums.  It also helps that our drummer Hooves hits the kick and snare like a robot.  We usually, depending on the size of the gig, have a visual and lighting show as well. Matt and Tim, lighting and visuals, have also been with us for quite a few years now.  As far as musically - HEAVY SOUL!

Any other forthcoming releases you can tell us about?

Well, all the remixes off this album of course and not to far in the distant future another full album.

Shapeshifter Tour Dates

• Oct 15: Hospitality at Rescue Rooms/Stealth, Nottingham
• Oct 16: Hospitality at Institute, Birmingham
• Oct 18: Club Meetfactory, Prague
• Oct 19: Fabric, Ostrave
• Oct 20: MMC, Bratislava
• Oct 21: Rotown, Rotterdam
• Oct 23: Paradiso, Amsterdam
• Oct 25: Whelans, Dublin
• Oct 26: Tuesday Club, Sheffield
• Oct 27: Bongos, Edinburgh
• Oct 29: Shepherds Bush Empire, London
• Oct 30: Hospitality at Regal, Oxford

 

• Shapeshifter
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• Hospital Records

Related Links:

• Shapeshifter Remix Competition
• NZShapeshifter in London
• Hospitality Q+A+E Video
• MC Lowqui Returns To Europe
• Knowledge Wins Best Magazine

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